Still looking for the perfect gift for grandma or grandpa? Have a special senior in your life and want to remember them this holiday season? There is still time to buy gifts online and have them shipped for Christmas delivery!

When you buy senior gifts online today 12/21 and tomorrow 12/22 by 3pm EST and choose air shipping it means your special older loved one will get their gift in time for the holiday. Don’t delay!

Need some helping picking out a gift for grandma? What would grandpa like this year? Do you have a special great grandma in your life?

Last minute gifts that may be just right for your senior:

Lap Desk/Tray- This item is great for seniors who want to write, read or eat from the comfort of a chair or bed. Use anywhere, take anywhere! The bean bag bottom makes this item comfortable to use.

Big Screen Solitaire Game- Now with a big screen so everyone can see. Great to keep your older loved one active.

Big Button Phone and the New Cordless Version- These easy to use phones make life simpler. A great low vision product.

Reminiscing Game- Play with family and friends!  A great way to learn about family history and to share stories from the past. Helps keeps minds active.

Kitchen Helpers Gift Basket- Love grandma’s cooking? Keep her at ease in the kitchen with this wonderful gift basket.

Grandma Christmas Gift Basket- Everything Christmas and Grandma themed all in one.

Grandpa Christmas Gift Basket- Everything Christmas and Grandpa themed all in one.

I must say, I really like the snow on the WordPress homepage.

In any case, I just wanted to record a couple of touching moments from today.
First, my dad and his family is moving right now and I’m helping out when not at work. Today, my task was to restock the bookshelves that now reside my library of a room.
My father has a lot of books (I have no idea in what lifetime he had time to read them all) and so to tame the madness I tried to sort them by type. He’s a refrigeration pipefitter, so he had many textbooks from his studies. But he also had a few books about a sort of new age pioneer lifestyle, trying to conserve the earth and all that, as well as other books concerning destruction of resources, land, architecture, history, and culture. He has books on the greats in aviation, how to win a bicycle race, how to play cutthroat pool, Arizona ghost towns and back roads, Calvin and Hobbes comic books, and on and on.
Though I was impressed and connected in a way I couldn’t have been before I came back from college, I was most affected by the high school yearbooks I found stuffed in a box, like they should be dusty and discarded. I wiped them off and thumbed through them — seeing pictures of my father looking rather ridiculous and bushy-browed, and seeing the old comments of his friends, reminding him of their appreciation of his kindness.

Also, my father’s parents are in town, as is customary for this time of year, until shortly after Christmas. My grandfather is extremely hard of hearing, and I cannot for the life of me seem to speak loud enough or slow down my speaking for him to understand. But instead of becoming frustrated and retreating into a shell, he sits there and painstakingly reads my lips, repeating each word I say silently until he can make sense of them, smile warmly, and intelligently reply. I haven’t ever been able to spend much time with him, so it’s a great treat to show the pictures from the Europe trip he helped fund and from ASU downtown. I’m looking forward to sharing those and more pictures with my grandmother tomorrow — gentlest soul I have ever known.

Once again, I am late. It’s been a busy week. This post is in the series of the Hottest Women You’ll Never Meet. Seeing as how this is a site about fantasy sports, these women will almost certainly be 100% fictional. You may have run across them in various games, shows or what have you, but you’ve never actually met them. And you never will. Just sit back, read up and enjoy!

Christie Moneiro (Tekken 4)

Name: Christie Monteiro

First Appearance: Tekken 4, July 2001

Age/Birth-year: 19

Birthplace: Brazil

Height: 5′8″

Weight: 130 lbs.

Hobbies/Occupation: Unemployed/Student and relaxing

The Shake: She’s the daughter of a Capoeira master currently incarcerated in prison and has been taught the are of the fighting style by a man who studied under him while also in prison. So, she can fight and probably dance a little too. Christie isn’t scantily clad, but it seems that she won’t overdress for anything. Also, she’s got a light-hearted personality, yet she’s considered to be a flirt. If you can deal with that all day, then you’re probably golden. Considering she entered the tournament to save her grandfather from prison, family seems to be important to her.

Deal Breaker: Seeing as how she’s an unemployed student, you’d get to foot the bill for any outing more than 95% of the time.

Last year I barely noticed Christmas. Not only was the day itself indistinguishable from the entire previous month of teething winter, but I experienced a new kind of uncomfortable tension and hot tears in the morning. My soul was a young fly caught in a jar, softly suffocating.

This year I found a way to keep my soul from leaving my body. This was my most crucial and yet most unquantifiable accomplishment.

I miss people the most during this time of the year. I miss the people grew up with. Early winter is a collection of ghosts that come to revisit me. My grandfather (at peace, faithful departed) always comes to visit around this time of year too, walking around and smiling at me in my dreams. A few nights ago I even received a visit from an ex-boyfriend who I haven’t seen in years, whose primary message seemed to be that he would always be there for me, mostly whether I liked it or not. I’ve also reached dream number thirteen of my wedding day, each with its own disaster.

I carry my dreams with me all the next day and they stir undeniable weight.

While the end of the year has arrived almost unnoticed. We’ve all be kind of sighing with relief though. This year hasn’t feel like something to get through or to measure; it’s just been full of pressure and arguments and being broken and finding the love I thought was true to be even stronger. This year has presented a duality of honesty and emotion, from having a first kiss all over again, to falling onto the floor of a department store from helpless, stinging pain. The year has been wide, long, and the most fulfilling. It’s a collective of moments, of stories, of lingering feelings, of the monkey sitting on our shoulders so patiently just waiting for the moment when we could crumble.

The end of the year all runs together and we just keep living, keep breathing, until we find ourselves sitting across the table from January. The end of the year is a breaking. The purest snow will melt and carry the sediment from last year away through the drains.

Recently, I read an article with the thesis statement that “The Simpsons” no longer matters. Granted, I’m a fan and have been since the beginning. And while I’ve seen a few clunkers in the mix, for 20 years, they have been consistently entertaining. But more than that, they have established a cultural shorthand that is undeniable.

The article talks about how it has lost its edge to shows like “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” That may be so, but that doesn’t diminish the relevance of the Simpsons. I’ll give you an example.

Max was looking at some Minimates online. For those that don’t know, Minimates are little Lego-like figures modeled after popular film and TV shows. He collects the comic book versions and was looking for news on when the new sets would be out. He came across a Minimate he couldn’t identify. It was a T-1000 terminator from the second movie (the one that was made of liquid metal). The figure was from the scene where the terminator had long hooks for hands and got his head split open by a shotgun blast.

“What’s that?”

Now, Max, hasn’t seen the film and really isn’t familiar with the Terminator franchise. So, rather than explaining to him about Sarah Connor and Skynet, I made reference to something he would know.

“You know that episode of the Simpsons where Homer decides he likes Ned Flanders and then begins spending so much time with him that Ned starts to dislike Homer?”

“Yes.”

“There is that scene where Homer melts out of the shrubbery to talk to Ned and then, holding two golf clubs, chases Ned’s car down the street.”

“Right. Then he catches the car and uses the clubs to drag himself up on the back of it.”

“Right. That was a reference to the second Terminator film in which that character uses those hook hands the same way.”

And that’s why the Simpsons will remain relevant even after the show stops airing. It has reflected our society and culture for so long, I can use it as shorthand when talking about various aspects of current culture. In fact, I reference the Simpsons so often that I can feel my friends’ eyes roll whenever I mention it.

–

I’ve finished my dealings with the insurance company and am expecting a check any time now to replace my stolen property and fix my “dwelling.”

[Simpsons reference: Marge Simpson studies to get her real estate license and gets discouraged because of the complicated rules and regulations she has to memorize. "What's a 'dwelling?'"]

It has been a relatively painless process. Rosie, my claims adjuster, was great and worked quickly to get my paperwork shuffled through so I could get a check in time for Christmas. My hat’s off to her.

–

One interesting thing that’s come out of all this is that I’ve gotten to know one of my neighbors. He is a photographer and musician. While he was talking to the police about what he saw on the day of my robbery, he noticed one of my cats lurking about.

“That’s the neighborhood cat,” he said.

“He is that,” I replied. “That’s Speedy.”

“So he’s your cat?”

“Yes. We’ve had him since he was a kitten.”

“That cat comes over to my house all the time. I’ve got photos of that cat. I’ve been calling him Gnee. He likes to sleep in the bed of an abandoned pick up truck behind the auto shop.”

I asked him to send me some photos of my cat.

There have been plenty of stories (and at least one Simpsons plot) dedicated to our pets living secret lives. My neighbor told me that he has a group of friends over once a week to play music and that Speedy shows up there without fail. He sent me links to videos he created and in them, Speedy is hanging out on his friends’ laps or on the couch.

That amuses me no end. Max has taken to calling Speedy a “two-timing jerk” or, alternately, claiming Speedy isn’t his cat, but some “mystery cat” that looks a lot like Speedy, but isn’t him.

I’m thinking of buying one of those collar cameras and putting it on Speedy to see what he gets up to when he’s wandering the neighborhood.

–

My brother wrote a very sweet and poignant account of Christmas morning at my grandparent’s house and what it meant to him that everyone was there. He has been a little frustrated that the tradition of going to my grandparent’s house for Christmas breakfast has been changed. It was a family tradition for many years, but it has never been a tradition that was etched in stone. Before they had grandchildren, my grandparents would spend Christmas day with their kids. When I was young and everyone could fit around my grandmother’s giant dining room table we had dinner on Christmas Eve. It was exciting because it meant Christmas was that much closer.

Eventually, there were just too many of us. So, we stopped eating around that table and started spreading around the house, gathering around card tables and other furniture, mixing it up with cousins all of which had families of their own. There were too many to get gifts for everyone, so we started drawing names and having a secret Santa. We moved it to breakfast on Christmas morning and, since my grandmother died, moved the gathering to my grandfather’s church.

Each year it becomes more difficult to organize and easier to hurt someone’s feelings in the process of trying. My hope is that my family understands that while traditions are great, they should be a means to an end. Getting everyone together to celebrate Christmas however it can be managed should be the goal. I think everyone understands this and while letting go of tradition is hard to do, we’ve all done it before and we’ll continue to do it every year.

Many people have been struggling financially during the economic decline of the past several years.  Additionally, I’ve read how during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays it can often be a very difficult emotional time for people:  they remember a special person (or group of people) whom they used to be involved with at various gatherings and celebrations; but now the special person(s) in no longer available  (death, divorce, moved-away, etc.)   As a result,  depression and the sense of loss become very heavy.  For some, unfortunately, easing the pain and misery seems only possible by ending their life!

I’m sharing “The Wooden Bowl” as a way to encourage you to think of someone you know who might need some help or kind words — something which you can give of yourself that wont cost more than a little time, and maybe some gasoline!  Perhaps, something as simple as a phone-call to a friend or family member you haven’t spoken with for awhile can BRIGHTEN their day, and LIGHTEN their mood!

The story came to me many months ago (I have no idea how long ago) in one of those emails encouraging people to forward it!  You’ve probably had lots of those kinda things forwarded to you in the past — I know I have!  But, this one touched me a great deal.  So, I kept it, and made a few  editing changes which suited me — Below is the result.

——————————–
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson;  his eyesight was blurred and his steps faltered.

The family ate together at the same table.  But, the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult for him: Peas rolled off his spoon, onto the floor; When he grasped the glass, milk spilled onto the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess — ‘We must do something about father,’ said the son. ‘I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating and food on the floor!’

So, the husband and wife set a small table in the corner — There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner together.  And, since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.  Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction he sometimes had a tear in his eye, as he sat alone.

One evening, before the meal was served, the father noticed his son playing with some wood-scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, ‘What are you making?’  Just as sweetly, the boy responded, ‘Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.’  The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The child’s words so struck the parents that they were speechless.  Then, tears started to stream down their cheeks.  Though no word was spoken between them, they both knew what must be done. That evening, the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days, GranPa ate every meal with the family.  And, for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk was spilled or the tablecloth became soiled.

Things I’ve learned:

• No matter what happens or how bad it seems today, life does go on — very soon we will likely forget the cares we had just a short time ago
• You can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas Tree lights
• Making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a ‘life’
• Life sometimes gives you a second chance
• You shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands — You need to be able to throw something back occasionally
• If you pursue happiness it will elude you — But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you
• Whenever I decide something with an open heart I usually make the right decision
• Even when I have pains I don’t have to be one
• Every day you should reach out and touch someone:  People love that human touch — holding hands; a warm hug; or just a friendly pat on the back

And, the most important thing I’ve learned (which I oft times forget) – I still have a lot to learn!

Happy Holidays to you ALL! And, to your Loved Ones also!

May the year 2010 bring you  – Health and Happiness, Peace and Tranquility, Joy and Abundance!

Please leave a comment!  (You can find the comment button at the top of this posting.)  I look forward to reading your thoughts and feelings.

My wife and I had a great phone call with my Grandparents last night. My Grandfather is 94 and my Grandmother is 80-something, no one really knows her age. We were on the phone for 1.5 hours, it seemed more like 10 minutes. My grandfather has requested a gathering of all his family for Christmas, actually the day after. We have never all been together at one time on Christmas; my dad, his two brothers and their extended families. So we will all me meeting on the 26th for a big dinner. I think a big reason he has asked for this gathering is he has started to think his time is near the end. Definitely not something I look forward to but he is the last of his siblings. He lost his brother in November. My grandfather was the oldest of I think 6 kids and is now also the last. I can’t imagine how that must feel.

I can’t wait, it will be a short visit but a momentous one for us.

Today’s the day. The moment I looked at the clock and realized the time had passed into the next day, into December 13th, my emotions overtook me. It seems no matter how hard I try to distract myself, to forget, to move on, this day, this date, is still gripping. Tears began streaming down my face, sobs shook my body, and I lost my footing and collapsed, crying, again.

It seems silly when I think about it as a third person. Being this upset over the passing of my grandfather. I wasn’t particularly close to him, language had become a big barrier in the later years as I lost much of my vocabulary in Cantonese. I could understand him, but it was difficult for me to speak it and make sense. But I love him. Still, to this day. I never got to say goodbye to him. But, he was old, he had lived his life, he had experienced it, and he had seen his grandchildren, even some great grandchildren. It shouldn’t be so incredibly sad for me. He lived his life.

And yet, I am. It’s sad, it’s painful, and I still can’t breathe when I think about it. All death is painful for those left behind. But, sudden death is worse. Because you never get to say goodbye. To say “I love you” for either the final time, or even for the first time. I never got to tell him…

So take care with the ones you love. Take care with the last words you say to someone when you leave them. If you love them, if you care about them, make sure they know. Because you never know what the last words you say to them will be.

So often we are told to value teachers, political leaders, and other non-related leaders of today but why do we over-look the greatest teachers of all, grandparents! When it comes to gaining true wisdom, all one needs to do is spend time with grandparents.

I feel so blessed because my 4-year-old daughter is growing up with her grandparents on a daily basis. The special relationship and bond I see between my daughter and her grandparents is truly priceless. Where else would my child feel loved unconditionally without the discipline that parents are expected to give? When I see the love in my child’s eyes for her grandparents, I feel so blessed and lucky to have that be a part of my daughter’s life on a daily basis.

Children gain a completely different sense of self when they are connected to their grandparents. From their grandparents, children learn wisdom from the experiences their grandparents have had, they learn life lessons that can only be taught from elders who have lived and learned through their years and they gain a greater outlook on life.

Parents are great role models for their children but so are grandparents. I hope more people become aware of the true value grandparents bring to every child’s life. The best gift a parent can give to their child is to make the greatest effort to keep the connection between their child and grandparents strong. Everyday I feel so grateful that my daughter has her loving, supportive and encouraging grandparents in her life on a daily basis:)

This year, the day after Thanksgiving was turned into family photo day!   Mainly because I wanted/needed the practice and my family loves me so they were willing.   It was such a nice relaxing day.   We went out to my grandparents’ farm and looked through old family photos, drove over to Brownwood to eat at Underwood’s (yum!) and ended up back in the big ole town of De Leon.  We posted up at the old train station for most of the shoot which was once the heart of the town.  We played on the tracks and the platform where my Papa said he used to catch the train as kid.  So much history in such a tiny town.  Here are my favorites from the day.  Enjoy!

lari

And last but certainly not least, my favorite picture of the day.

“If you don’t know your father, your grandfather and your great grandfather you are already lost” Hmmm…… let’s meditate on that for a minute. I was reading the urban fiction novel Midnight by Sister Souljah and the lead character Midnight makes reference to this in the opening of the novel. Then I started thinking about all the people who inhabit the earth that do not know where they come from and in essence do not know their history. Our parents and elders form the blue prints of our lives. If there is no blue print then you cannot build a home. Such as with life, if we do not have a pattern to follow it can be quite difficult to build a life. I think this is why we have so many people who struggle with identity and run from place to place looking for a home and for a cluture. Then I thought about the baby daddy and baby mama effect. So many people just run around having babies with any and everyone and in some cases men don’t know they have babies and women do not even know who the baby’s father is. I can never forget the girl on a popular talk show who had about 10 men tested and none of those men were the father of her baby. It was a shameful sight. Then I thought about all the women who know who the father’s of their children are but refuse to give up this knowledge to their children. I think that is truly selfish. I mean regardless of what went down between the mother and the father the child needs to know where they come from. Where you come from, whether we like it or not, determines where we end up in life.

I found this in an old online journal. The original date on it was July 18, 2004. He passed away a few years after that, which seemingly makes this resonate a bit more.  I’m putting it up here so that if that journal disappears, it’ll always be somewhere.

Grandfather, your truck has seen better days, and so have you. You are much like this vehicle. Everyone just assumes because it looks old that it’s ready to crack and fall apart, but it doesn’t. My grandmother told me a story once, about how even though you don’t start it all through the winter and it gets buried in about four feet of snow, when you go out mid-summer to start it to drive far enough to pick up essentials for a bit of building, it revs and starts as if it were 20 years ago and you drove it every day. And though you tell me about the rust stains that seep through the floorboard, and the visible ones on the outsides, you, like it still have alot of heart left.

I love you, and you’ll never see this.

Aarya had a company of few near and dear people for more than a fortnight. Her Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunty, Cousin were amongst the few people who played with Aarya. After they all left, she was like quite for a day or two. May be she must be remembering them and searching then all over the home to find them.

Everyday I will be so much eager to get back from school by 4 so as to watch the Disney world cartoons.Also it was the daily watch to see my grandpa sitting in our home’s sit out in his “charu kasera”.The moment i get out of the auto,i just dash into the house to switch on the TV.

The moment i run into house he will shout at me bcoz i will be getting the house with my shoes on

Who cares???I watch TV along with my bro with the corn flakes bowl in the lap..As usual grandma will be shouting for no reason but again who cares???

There were times when he used to accompany me till the main road while i was using school bus..

but those times i used to be very embarrassed to walk with him..i used to argue with him telling that im big enough to take care of myself..but still he used to accompany us..he used to take care of us..he will stand at the bus stop till the school bus get out of his sight..

all those while i was such a spoilt kid who used to think that it is so bad to be with old people..i had this feeling till that day…

that day..in my 7th std..he became ill all in a sudden..there was nobody sitting in the sit-out..

he will be lying down without conscious whole day..in that bedroom of his in the ground floor of our house..

later he was taken to hospital and still whenever my bro or i call him “achacha” he could recognize us..he always used to respond to our calls..even in such unconscious state he used to be worry about how my bro and me are walking till the main road with no body to accompany us..

then one midnight he left us and went to a world not reachable to any of us..

From then onwards i realised,what his love to us was..he was like a shade for us..my parents could go for work without any concerns..he was there to take us for evening walk(even though we used to protest )..he was there to make sure that we are safe while at play..

why????why didnt i love him like i love him now when he was alive???where will i wash away the sin of being rude to him??he loved us so much that there is nobody who could replace that position and the love and care given by him..

achacha..im sorry for being rude to him..forgive me..i always love you..you were the best grandpa in the world..

by Mydnite Angel ©2009

Do you remember when your family would lovingly kiss you on your cheek and tell you things they thought sounded cute and would make you relax enough to shut up, sit still and/or go to sleep? Did you ever think about these things when you got older? I have (yup, here we go again). . .

“Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite”
Ok y’all. Follow me here. If we had to spend the extra time in bed fighting off the bed bugs, how would we have the comfort & presence of mind to then “sleep tight”?? Why would my Nana say such a thing to a sweet and impressionable kid like me (hey! there weren’t any videos so my brother can’t prove a thing!).

“The boogie man is in the basement, so you better be good!
Nice one fam, nice! I would sit on that dang couch for hours, afraid that if a toe touched the floor some mongungous creature would spring from the already frightening basement & snatch my tiny a** up, & I’d never be seen again. Maybe that was their plan, after all there were 14 of us & money was scarce in those days. Guess they thought they had to thin out the household population. Either that or they simply got a perverse joy out of watching me maintain a controlled panic & delve deeper into paranoia than they had already taken me. Bastiges!

“Don’t cross your eyes, your face will freeze in that position”.
Hmmm. Wasn’t this originally intended to put a halt to our “silly” & “unacceptable” behaviors? Have we noticed an overall theme? Scare the crap out of them & they’ll behave? Now undoubtedly this never worked in our family of early stage juvenile offenders, undercover dysfunctional evildoers, pre-adolescent narcissistic pyromaniacs & bomb makers with the acclaim of a precision obsessed master craftsman (u had to love us though). We never fell for the “52 fake out” as my grandfather would lovingly call it. THIS from a man who rid our home of rats by feeding them! He was sooo loving. So what if there was quick-dry cement in their food, at least he gave them water to whet their whistle! (He was my favorite adult).
Wait, where was I going with this anyway? I just lost my train of thought, and is that at all possible? If you lost your thought it’s not like it’s coming back especially if it was on Amtrak – they move pretty darned quick there Bucky! I tried to catch one when I was a kid, didn’t work, however I did manage to run over my pain in the ass cousin. He didn’t think moving was a good idea & I couldn’t seem to slow down, maybe I should have taken off the skates b4 I started out on my full speed ahead mission. But that wouldn’t have worked either, considering my mom thought it was funny to hide the skate key (yes, they were the metal skates darn it!) My mom was famous for doing crap she thought was hilarious, but others thought was plain sick. Like when she hid the cookies in the cereal jar thinking we heathen-like kids wouldn’t find them. She didn’t bother to tell anyone that the cookies she hid were so stale they’d break off a tooth. My cousin Gil was the poor soul to discover that fact. Mommy just laughed, she never saw a teenager cry like a 2 year old before. She also thought it was funny to invite the same cousin over to dinner the same day he got out of the hospital after his tonsillectomy. She made steak, salad & corn on the cob. He whimpered & I had to stifle the laughter because my mom’s hands were HUGE and if she swung on me I’d be dead (or at least feel like it).

Ok I can no longer deny it. We are a truly product of those who raised us, regardless of the educational opportunities we had & regardless of the belief system we grew up in.

DANG! I’m tainted.

Just a sneak peek from family photo day in DeLeon.  More to come soon along with the full mother/daughter post of Andrea and Val!  Keep a look out!